Monday, June 1, 2015

Nairobi City Joins Global Climate Change Action Commitment.

By Charles Ogallo.

Nairobi
is among 402 cities across the world that have registered their commitments to the
global long term climate change action as part of growing ambitions towards this
year’s United Nations climate change conference in Paris.

Nairobi
has also committed to double the global rate of improvement in energy
efficiency as well as set green house gas emission reduction goals by 2030.

The
commitments comes as Kenya declares again to focus more on clean energy
production in the country in order to benefit from what green economy offers.

Speaking
Monday during this year’s Madaraka Day celebration at the heart of the city,
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said his government has put in place plans to
ensure one million more Kenyan households are connected to locally produced electricity.

“My
government will focus more on production of clean energy as we continue to meet
energy demands in the country” said President Kenyatta.

Since
inception of Kenyatta Government in 2013, a lot has happened in terms of lighting
up slum areas within and outside the capital city Nairobi with solar and other
clean energy supply.

The
online portal is designed to showcase several inspiring developments within the
scope of the Lima-Paris Action Agenda and catalyze public –private sector
action on climate change before and after 2020, when the Paris universal
climate agreement will take effect.

The
commitments from cities , businesses and investors housed and showcased in an
updated version of of the Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action-NAZCA portal -
http://climateaction.unfccc.int/-
will also add critical momentum towards the new universal climate agreement in
December.

The
NAZCA portal was originally launched at COP 20 in Lima where Peru’s Environment
Minister and President of last year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Lima,
Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, said the Nazca lines symbolize connection, action and
movement.

The
online registration process – in partnership with CDP, the Carbon Climate
Registry and Global Investors on Climate Change – provides a simple system for
ensuring that climate commitments are registered with the UN in time for Paris.